IUIIJ TltOJM
THURSDAY
dtrojan@usc.edu	m^mm	*	October	7,1999
http://www.usc.edu/dt__________Vol. CXXXVIII, No. 27
New forum created for TAs
Education: Sessions will focus on issues they deal with when leading their classes
BY YVONNE NGAI
Staff Writer
To give teaching assistants additional classroom training and the opportunity to interact with one another, the Center for Excellence and Teaching created a TA Forum Series this semester.
Today’s session, one of two brown-bag lunches that occur weekly, will take place at 11:30 a.m. in LAW, Room 101.
“The series is meant to help teaching assistants to develop skills and to promote discussion,” said Donald Haviland, CET program coordinator and the leaders of today’s discussion.
TA Forum Series was created after a task force of the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs suggested the idea, said CET director Danielle Mihram.
“In a nutshell, the task force recommended the need for TAs to have an opportunity to discuss w'ithin themselves in a forum manner,” Mihram said. “This is a way for them to talk about issues they face in the classroom.”
During the brown-bag lunches, TAs watch a video that highlights an issue that may be encountered in class, such as leading discussions. The group then suggests different methods to deal with the issues. All the videos are provided by the Bok Center For Excellent Teaching at Harvard College.
“The forums will be helpful if more TAs and professors come to them,” said Gitika Commuri, a graduate student in international relations. “More people will bring on better discussion.”
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Students at the Health Sciences Campus will also have the chance to participate in the TA Forum Series. After the videos are used on the main campus, they will be shipped to the HSC group for another viewing.
Topics for the brow'n-bag lunches and workshops are chosen by Mihram and CET’s eight faculty fellows based on what is suggested in student evaluations.
“We want to meet the needs of TAs and address the questions they may have,” Haviland said. “We’re already planning for the spring semester and hope to expand the variety of topics.”
Mihram agreed that the series is helpful and encouraged TAs to attend.
“I hope to keep it going through the years and to produce what I like to call TA Fellows,’ students that will keep participating actively in the program,” she said. “We’re
I see TA. page 21 I
Blaze contained to one building
Firefighters contained a blaze Wednesday night at a two-story commercial building on the 2900 block of Vermont Avenue within a half-hour, preventing the fire from spreading to nearby residential buildings. No one was injured.
About 50 firefighters responded to a report of the structure fire about 8 p.m., said Los Angeles Fire Department Battalion Chief Craig Fry.
“We were real concerned when we first got there, considering the proximity of the fire to numerous other buildings,” Fry said. “But due to an aggressive attack on the fire by the firefighters, we were able to contain the blaze to the second floor and the
attic of the building.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation, and an arson unit was on site, Fry said. The building, which contains a sporting goods and an audio and alarm store, is located near several commercial and residential facilities. Property damage estimates were not available.
The sight of flames shooting from the roof of the building sent dozens of local residents into the streets to get a closer look.
“I was looking out my bedroom window and could see the flames,” said Jessica Linehan, a first-year law student. “I ran and got my roommates and we went outside to see what was going on.”
By the time some residents got to the site of the fire, LAFD had taped off the area and the flames had been extinguished.
“It looked real close to my house,” said resident Elias Vega. “It was just smoke when I got there, but there were about 20 fire trucks there.”
While the proximity of the fire made some neighbors uneasy, pthers took the incident in stride.
“I love living in this neighborhood,” said Jane Wilson, a visiting biochemistry research fellow at USC. “You get a front-row seat to all of the action.”
— Staff Writer Elissa K. Konove
Words of passion. Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks about labor contracts on campus.
Jackson urges student activism
Speech: University contract with union should not curtail campus conscience
By JENNIFER MEDINA
Assignment Editor
Local ll’s contract with the university should be used as a springboard and not seen as a victorious conclusion by students, political activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson said Wednesday.
Hundreds of students, faculty and workers packed the United University Church to hear Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, and Jon Wilhelm, general president of Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International, reflect on Monday’s contract signing between the university and the the labor union. The crowd patiently waited to hear Jackson, who arrived two hours late after his plane from San Francisco was delayed.
“This is seeing students come alive and put private workers over their Own wealth,” he said. “Whenever young America comes alive and (crowds) out voices of cynicism, you have the power to transform America.”
After a four-and-a-half-year impasse, the dining and hospitality worker’s union signed a five-year contract with USC Monday. The contract includes provisions for medical and dental insurance and protects tuition remission benefits. Terms of subcontracting are also established.
More than 200 workers, students, faculty, celebrities and clergy have fasted since May in support of the workers, organizers said.
Huerta commended the workers and the students for working together.
“(Cesar Chavez, co-founder of the UFW) started this great tradition of fasting,” she said as she remembered the late labor activist. “He followed the path of fasting for justice.”
The celebration, which ended the 149-day fast, was filled with “spiritual ironies,” said Maria Elena Chavez, a senior majoring in cinema-television production.
As Huerta’s daughter and the niece of Cesar Chavez, Chavez spent much of her life learning about the labor movement.
After the event, the crowd followed Jackson, Huerta and Chavez to uncover the Cesar Chavez memorial in Founder’s Park. The memorial had been covered since May, at the request of Cesar Chavez’s widow, Helen.
‘Today I am fasting as my uncle did many years ago, and I will end I see Jackson, page 19 I
Weather
Xv-
High:82 Low: 58
Tomorrow
Mostly clear and sunny with light winds in the morning
File photo
Score. Physical education courses, incfuding basketball, will focus on improving student health.
Courses: Split from exercise science department will better student exercise needs
By MARY VUONG
Staff Writer
Spring -2000 class sign-ups are only a few weeks away, and students will be able to sign up for physical education courses to get in shape while receiving academic credits. With the program’s split from the exercise science department in July, the department may now better attend to their fitness needs.
“Before, (the two programs) were co-existing with different goals and purposes,” said Steve Van Kanegan, director of the PE program. “Exercise science is more about the research and study of movement. PE is about bringing people into the activities.”
The separation will help each program be more clearly defined, he said.
“Many students think PE, exercise science, recreational sports and athletics are all the same,” Van Kanegan continued. “We’re hoping to make people more aware of the health benefits and risks
I see PE, page 12 I